The demonstrators have been occupying parts of the city centre, blocking traffic and demanding a fairer electoral system ahead of the election in 2017. Police have repeatedly cleared away encampments, using tear gas to overpower the young people. Yet they continue to organise, using Facebook and Weibo, the Chinese social media app.
Umbrellas
They use pictures and video on numerous social media networks, with colourful umbrellas adopted as a symbol of their movement. Speaking on PassW0rd with Peter Warren on Resonance 104.4FM, reporter Vicky Wong said that Twitter was less popular at the start of the protests but is now becoming more widely used because local social networks are open to snooping by the authorities. The Chinese also block many western websites with ‘The Great Firewall’.
“My friend in mainland China says you can search online for ‘Umbrella Revolution’ or ‘Hong Kong protests’ but nothing appears in the search engines. And there have been rumours for weeks that fake messages to the demonstrators in Weibo are used by the authorities to plant bugs.”
Those rumours were confirmed by Mykko Hypponnen the Chief Research Officer at F-Secure, the Finnish security company, who raised the alert in his keynote address to the London IP Expo.
Hong Kong chief executive Cy Leung has so far refused to meet the protestors, some of whom tied themselves up and marched on his residence (pictured above).
Protestors at the British Embassy in Hong Kong. Photo Vicky Wong
The focus of the occupation then switched to the British Embassy. Until 1997 Britain was the colonial power, ruling through a governor. When the former colony was handed over to the Chinese – a move that Beijing calls ‘The Return’ since the island was historically part of China – a new constitution called the Basic Law stated that by 2017 all the peoples of Hong Kong would have the right to vote, known as universal suffrage.
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The British Government has responded to the pro-democracy demands by urging both sides to start talking. Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire has made a Statement to the House of Commons stressing that it is important that Hong Kong’s rights of freedom and speech and freedom of assembly are respected. He adds:
“The Foreign Secretary and I have consistently expressed to all parties the Government’s view that Hong Kong’s future is best served by a transition to universal suffrage, in line with the Basic Law, which meets the aspirations of the people of Hong Kong, and which offers them a genuine choice in the election of the Chief Executive.”
British singer John Lennon’s anthem ‘Imagine‘ is one of the occupiers’ anthems and they have created a mural called The Lennon Wall using pink blue yellow and green post-it notes, each expressing a personal wish or hope for a new political settlement. Kevin Kaho Tsui sings ‘Imagine’ at the Lennon Wall
Counter demonstrations
The Chinese news agency Xinhua has reported the protests and shown pictures of counter-demonstrations in support of Chief Executive Cy Leung.
‘I love my city and I am willing to speak out’ Photo by Vicky Wong
It covered the police moves to remove an encampment in the district of Mong Kok, quoting police superintendent Catherine Kwan as saying that the operation was carried out peacefully and was appreciated by shop owners who had lost 80% of their business during the occupation. It also mentioned the anti-Occupy Blue Ribbon movement which is lobbying for the authorities to crack down further, and urging the university to ‘deal with’ the Occupy organisers who are mainly students and university employees.
Long haul
So far talks between the two sides have produced no breakthrough and the Occupy protest looks set to continue. Reporter Vicky Wong says it reminds her of the similar occupation near Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London in 2011. “They look settled, and they’re giving lectures in tents andtrying to continue their education in a sort of free university” she told the PassW0rd radio show. That occupation lasted for nine months, until police and bailiffs cleared it a few weeks before the start of the 2012 London Olympics. Hong Kong’s election is scheduled for 2017. That is the focus of Occupy’s demands and the demonstrators seem to be in for a long haul.
